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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-911
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-911
15 May 2023
 | 15 May 2023

Clustering of settling microswimmers in turbulence

Jingran Qiu, Zhiwen Cui, Eric Climent, and Lihao Zhao

Abstract. Clustering of plankton plays a vital role in several biological activities including feeding, predation and mating. Gyrotaxis is one of the mechanisms that induces clustering. A recent study reported a fluid inertial torque acting on a spherical micro-swimmer, which is analogous to a gyrotactic torque. In this study, we model plankton cells as micro-swimmers that are subject to gravitational sedimentation as well as a fluid inertial torque. We use direct numerical simulations to obtain the trajectories of swimmers in homogeneous isotropic turbulence, and investigate their clustering by Voronoï analysis. Our findings indicate that fluid inertial torque leads to notable clustering, with its intensity depending on the swimming and settling speeds of swimmers. By Voronoï analysis, we demonstrate that swimmers preferentially sample downwelling regions where clustering is more prevalent.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

07 May 2024
Clustering of settling microswimmers in turbulence
Jingran Qiu, Zhiwen Cui, Eric Climent, and Lihao Zhao
Nonlin. Processes Geophys., 31, 229–236, https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-31-229-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-31-229-2024, 2024
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

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Clustering is a vital phenomenon for planktonic microorganisms, which is related to their...
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